Adelaida Villavicencio with Juan Manuel Maestre in the play La Avaricia.

• Las Tunas recently hosted the Villanueva Theater Festival, dedicated to the actress Adelaida Villavicencio. We share with you a glimpse into this artist's life.

More than 30 years have passed since Adelaida Villavicencio stepped onto the stage for the first time. It was in high school that she discovered this passion and even joined a group of theater enthusiasts. Later, her admission to the El Yarey art instructors' school would ultimately encourage her dreams. And since then, she has been there, in some way, close to the stage.

“I always liked theater. I first worked as an art instructor and then joined the Máscara group, where I participated in several plays. There, I evaluated myself and moved on to the professional world,” she says. Today, she especially remembers Como anillo al dedo (Like a Ring on a Finger), one of her first plays, directed by none other than Alfonso Silvestre. “Although I still felt a little insecure because I was a novice actress, I nailed the character, and the audience loved it. There's nothing more wonderful than people identifying with your work,” she notes.

Another special moment in her career was a performance in the heart of the city, where she appeared nude, at a time when the province was not yet accustomed to this, although it was normal in more cosmopolitan cities. “Juan Manuel Maestre also acted in the play, which he also directed. We are talking about 1993. It certainly had a big impact, but not only because of the nudity, but also because of its dramatic content.”

When we see Adelaida on stage, like a confident master, we are struck by the difference between the calm and measured personality she projects in real life and the strong characters she normally plays, those who arouse the audience's amazement and emotion. "Pedro Álvarez, Verónica Lynn's husband, thought the same thing. He was here directing the play Una medalla para las conejitas (A Medal for the Bunnies), and when he saw me, he said, 'The quiet actress'."

“When I go on stage, I feel like I'm freeing myself from feelings I carry inside, things that Adelaida the person would sometimes not dare to do or say, that I sometimes don't reflect in everyday life. It makes me grow, it makes me fly.”

Total Teatro, the province's quintessential drama group, also had a profound impact on her career. “At first, there were only four or five of us who formed Colibrí, but when Huellas disbanded, we united into a single brotherhood with the current name. It was a very beautiful thing, we always stayed together... I was there until I retired,” she says.

Although she worked for a short time in the Los Zahoríes puppet theater, it was the dramatic arts that ultimately captivated her. “I really like puppet theater and children's theater, but it's the world of drama that fascinates me,” she says.

Several awards attest to this woman's achievements in the art of the stage, but she prefers the “flash of light” she sees in the audience when viewers identify with her work. That is why having the Villanueva Theater Festival dedicated to her is so gratifying. “It's a great honor, the result of so many years of dedication,” she sums up.

Radio has also embraced her talent. "I really like this medium because it allows you to play different characters. It's not like acting in a theater, where, when you reach a certain age, you're a bit limited when it comes to taking on young roles. On the radio, you only work with your voice. You have to imagine the atmosphere, where you are, and what you are doing. They give you a script, and there is little time to study it and record. I really like it," she says. Thus, in El guateque, El cuento, Campanita de colores, Caso cerrado, and other programs on the provincial station Radio Victoria, this versatile theater artist leaves her mark.

One of the characters that listeners particularly appreciate is Fredesvinda, for her mischievous and humorous nature. Even a cilantro seller stops Adelaida on the street now and then to ask her to say something in the voice of “that lady.”

One of her greatest sources of pride is her daughter, Náyare León Villavicencio, who has followed in her footsteps on stage and has even performed alongside her. A special moment for both of them was the play Las rosas de María Fonseca, in which the young actress was evaluated, sharing the stage with her mother.

“My daughter is dedicated and creative; she is my beloved little one, the person I fight for every day, and who gives me the strength to keep going. At first, I didn't want her to be an actress, because it's a very demanding and poorly paid job, but that was her decision, and I have always supported her,” she confesses.

Adelaida was born in Mella, Santiago de Cuba, but when she was six or seven years old, she came to live in Las Tunas and has never left the region since. That little girl who played at being a teacher with imaginary students and brought objects to life in a kind of storytelling fantasy is now an indispensable woman on the Las Tunas stage.

She also never misses an opportunity to thank her father, Enrique Villavicencio Arévalo, who supported her and her four siblings throughout their lives. Although their home was humble, they never lacked the essentials.

She looks back on the scenes of her life, some sad, some happy, and understands that all of them led her to become the actress she is today. For this reason, and because she knows she is the heir to great masters who, throughout history, have placed the art form on a very high pedestal, despite being retired, she does not stray far from it. In other words, she defines it this way: "Theater reflects everyday life. You have to be very observant, watch people in different situations, study hard, be creative, and have imagination. It fulfills me as a human being; it's the way I've found to let go of my shyness and all those things I carry inside. Theater is wonderful."